Captain Marvel in National City
by Azure Lightning Emerald Cloud
Summary: After that final game night, Lena is left bereft with anger and sadness at Kara/Supergirl's deception. Enter a wild Captain Marvel!
1. Enter Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel in National City

Lena was crying into her second glass of whiskey when the portal opened. Kara had been Supergirl the whole time. Everyone else obviously knew about it except her. One guess why…Lena screamed and threw her empty glass across the room just as a blinding light appeared. The blue rip in the fabric of reality expanded and seemed to spit out a figure in a multi-coloured tactical suit, upon whose head Lena's flung tumbler shattered.

The person was thrown out of the portal and into the wall, shattering it. The person, woman, had a sword in her chest, and blue blood was everywhere. Despite the obviously fatal injury, the woman, who had blonde hair, rose to her feet and dispassionately yanked the sword out of her sternum. Blue blood spattered Lena's office floor, and she was too engrossed in the appearance of this woman of mystery to notice the portal closing with a _thrum_ that reverberated in her bones.

The mystery woman spat out a curse in a language Lena didn't understand as she almost petulantly chucked the sword through the air where the portal had been; which imbedded itself into the opposite wall, which happened to be the secret door to Lena's vault. The sword went through two feet of solid titanium like a pin through tissue paper. "Who the fuck are you?" Lena asked once she had gained back her bearings. She had chosen the wrong morning for day drinking.

The woman who had just pulled a three-foot sharpened piece of metal out of her chest cavity levelled her with a look that Lena wasn't sure how to quantify. But she responded with a "I'm Carol Danvers. But most people just end up calling me Captain Marvel," she said with an eye-roll.

"Do you need medical attention, Captain…Danvers?" Lena asked, realising the woman, Carol, should be dead.

Carol looked down and ran her finger through the tear in her outfit. She had already stopped bleeding, and Lena was lost for words as the woman gave a shrug, "Nah. I'm good. You said my name kinda weird. I haven't been 'Captain Danvers' since 89'," Carol noted as she looked around the room, walking around Lena's desk and peering out over the balcony.

Lena's alcohol addled brain was doing the math in her head. Clearly this woman was in her late twenties, early thirties at the oldest. There's no way she would've been anything but a child in the late 1980's, right? "You're my age, that can't be right," Lena said, not slurring. Carol's sharp look towards her led Lena to believe she may have slurred her words _just _enough for the lady to notice her.

"Damn, you having one of those days? Or are you just a drunk?" Carol's voice was far less neutral than it had been before. Her hand wiped her forhead where the glass had shattered, leaving no mark of course. Carol sniffed her hand and shuddered at the stench of whiskey.

"I lost my brother yesterday, and my best friend has been lying to me about something very important for at least two and a half years." Lena said as she slumped down into her chair.

"Oh. That's uh, that's rough buddy," Carol replied with a bit less fire in her eyes.

"Did you just Zuko me?" Lena asked. " They have Avatar: The Last Airbender where you're from?"

"I mean, I prefer Korra's series, but yeah," Carol shrugged.

"Really? That's an interesting take. Most people prefer the original." Lena said, giving Carol an interested look.

"Like, my daughter sent me both shows at the same time, and I watched them out of order. Korra's a messy bisexual badass. It was the first time I saw myself in a character from well, any media, really. She's the strongest person in the world, and she doubts herself everyday. Give me her over morally absolutist little monk kid any day of the week, no matter how funny his shenanigans might be. Wait a minute, I'm getting carried away, we can debate that stuff later."

"It wouldn't be much of a debate, I love Korra too." Lena sighed. "My best friend always preferred Aang, which makes a lot more sense now, considering her secret or anything." Lena muttered.

"Her secret?" Carol asked.

Lena seemed to come back to herself for a moment. "I may be furiously sad with all things concerning her right now, but you're a stranger, and I'd die before betraying her." Lena's voice was stronger now, her protective streak evident in the glint behind her heterochromatic eyes.

"Fair enough, I can respect that." Carol replied with a nod of respect. She looked back at Lena after a moment of contemplation and decided, 'why not?', "Are you sure she's just your 'best friend'? 'Cause belive me, I've _been there_."

Lena's face grew bright with her blush, but before Carol could do much more than snicker at her perfectly aimed tease, a figure flew through the open window to stand between Lena and Carol. "Lena! Are you alright?"

Carol's eyes widened at the appearance of the long-haired blonde girl in front of her, who had flown in like an avenging angel. _Huh._ Carol thought, noticing how as Lena looked at the girl, her blush somehow deepened. _That can't be healthy for a lily-white girl like Lena_, Carol thought as her smirk at the dark-haired woman grew.

The interloper must've interpreted Carols' smirk to mean malicious intent, because before Lena could finish shouting, "Supergirl, wait!" Supergirl was across the room and launching a fist at Carol.

Carol caught the punch, but only just. Supergirl wasn't expecting that, so Carol took the opportunity to land a lateral hammer fist to Supergirl's solar plexus, causing the girl to wheeze. Carol then pivoted with her arm outstretched, executing a perfect clothes line, knocking Supergirl onto her back; blood ran down her slightly broken nose.

"Don't hurt each other!" Lena shrieked. Carol looked at the horrified expression on her face and decided to be the gentlewoman in the scenario.

Carol bent down to a dazed Supergirl and quickly put her nose back into place with a wet crunch and a whimper of pain from the resident super hero. "You're strong," Carol started with a tentative smile. "Let's try this again." She offered her hand to Supergirl, to Lena's immense relief and surprise. It wasn't often the Girl of Steel was so soundly beaten.

"You're not here to hurt Lena?" asked the bleeding blonde tentatively as Carol helped her to her feet.

"No, Ms. Punch-First-And-Ask-Questions-Never," Carol replied with an eye roll.

Supergirl desperately looked at Lena. Lena's face was doing an Olympic level routine of trying to contain a maelstrom of emotions.

"I'm Supergirl," the hero introduced herself, putting her hands on her hips in her signature pose. The effect was perhaps a little weaker than she was hoping for; the recently broken nose and wobbly stance detracted slightly from the statement.

"Super_girl_? How old are you, twelve?" Carol grinned insolently.

"I'm technically 53, actually," Kara replied before she could stop herself.

"I think you're proving the wrong point there Super_woman_," Carol said. "I'm 59, no technicalities about it; so HA," Carol couldn't help be childishly replying. "I'm gonna call you Superwoman, it's more fitting…even if you _do _punch like a little girl," Carol couldn't help but tease.

Lena cleared her throat before Kara did something stupid again. Noticing her, Kara started, "Lena, are you…are you alright?" Supergirl tone drastically changed. Gone was the slightly snooty tone she had taken with Carol. For Lena she only had tenderness. Carol did _not _miss that fact; her eyes flicked between the two, the connection to Lena's terrible mood becoming apparent.

"I'm fine," Lena muttered, not meeting Kara's eyes.

The tension in the room was just so UGH… Carol decided to drop a bomb on that nonsense, "So, are the one who betrayed Lena so badly she's drunk right now?" Carol asked with an all too innocent smile.


	2. Jessica Huang is Best Girl

CHAPTER 2: Jessica Huang is Best Girl

Carol thought the expressions of the two women in front of her was some of the greatest art she'd ever seen. They were both sputtering for a solid five seconds before Lena managed a curt nod, clamping down on her emotions in an impressive display of control. Carol's eyebrows twitched in concern at a civilian's ability to kill her emotions like that; it was certainly interesting.

Lena was definitely avoiding Supergirl's eyes, and Carol was enjoying herself a little too much. Supergirl was clearly trying to absorb Carol's words, and once everything clicked, her expression dropped like her puppy was thrown down a well.

"Lena?" Supergirl asked as she completely ignored Carol, turning instead to the L-Corp CEO. "Do you know?"

Lena fidgeted and her jaw clenched, "Jessica! Treat our guest as an extension of myself. Carol, can we have the room?"

"Sure thing. Also, Lena, if you want fresh ears after this whole…shindig," she said gesturing vaguely to Supergirl, "Let me know. I kinda hope I stick around," Carol smiled at Lena as she crossed the room and casually retrieved the blade that had previously impaled her. "Superwoman? You hurt this lady, and even if I just met her, she seems like a good one, so if you continue to hurt her, you'll be taking on someone your own size, capisci?" Carol waited for a conflicted and surprised-looking nod from the resident superhero. With a final reassuring grin at Lena, Carol made to exit the room, hopeful that she had perhaps set these two fascinating women on the right path. After all, Superwoman's expression of guilt at having hurt Lena seemed as genuine as it got.

As she made her way to the door, Supergirl said, "Tell me what I need to do to make this right."

And as the door closed, Lena responded, "You didn't just lie to me; you _isolated me_, branded me an outsider from your whole friend group. It would've been _fine _if you let me be alone, but made you sure _all the accomplices to your deception _were irreplaceable in my life. So what, is the price of my anger at you all the loss of everything worth living for in my life? You know how mind-fucked I am by my family, how _scared _I am of being _played? _Lied to _like this_. How could you do that to me Kara?" Lena's voice was trembling by the end, from rage or despair, Carol wasn't sure. She was sure though, that this wasn't a talk meant for an interloper like her. She quietly closed the door, giving them the privacy they deserved.

Carol found herself faced with Lena's secretary who was looking her up and down with a mixture of lust, disgust, and exasperation; "I will be arranging a change of clothes for you, Miss…"

"Call me Carol!"

"Carol… Yes, well, you're dripping blood all over the floor and Ms. Luthor has very specific cleanliness standards, as do I." Carol locked eyes with the twenty-something Chinese-American woman whose desk plaque read: Jessica Huang. Jessica looked Carol up and down with a discerning eye and supplied, "I'm guessing a leather jacket or something similar would suffice? Or would you like a–you know what? I'm just gonna get you a whole ensemble, because there's blood _everywhere_."

Carol spared a glance down her front and conceded that even if she kept the torn suit she was wearing, it was unsightly. "Yeah, actually. That'd be fantastic Ms. Huang." Carol restrained herself from calling her 'Jess', but only just.

Jessica Huang nodded and tapped her tablet a few times, "Follow me, you'll be needing a shower immediately. You may call me Jessica." Carol nodded sheepishly. Jessica was clearly disgusted with Carol's overall 'you've spilled some blood on your bib' situation.

After she shepherded the tall blonde weirdo into the shower, Jessica arranged the change of clothes that she placed just outside the shower cubicle for Carol to change into. "Thanks Jessica!" Carol said as the door closed.

It wasn't often that Jessica had the conscious thought 'I really deserve the exorbitant raises Ms. Luthor has been giving me over the years', but today was certainly one of those days. She could hear the formerly bleeding blonde lady singing an off-key interpretation of _Nirvana_'s 'Come as You Are' in the shower.

A couple minutes later while waiting outside for Carol's privacy, Jessica received an alert on her tablet that there was a contingent from the DEO agents downstairs. They were probably responding to the rift in reality that brought Carol through; and they were behaving belligerently with the downstairs staff…again. Jessica grit her teeth. _The reckless arrogance of those neo-Gestapo, alien-disappearing, shady as fuck discount Cadmus, secret police piss me off so fucking much. Does nobody remember they were the ENEMY like last week? If the name 'Danvers' weren't affiliated with them, Ms. Luthor wouldn't even think of entertaining their inquisition bullshit without our legal and security departments taking them to the alley out back and executing them mafia-style with all the politeness they deserve…metaphorically_, Jess thought to herself.

Jess decided to not interfere in their quest to get to the elevator. She sent a note to the downstairs security before Ms. Luthor's new rules regarding enemies became another bloody problem. "Let them up." Jessika quickly used the biometric lock on the tablet Lena had given her, granting access to the elevators. Luckily, the DEO only sent their usual tactical team. They'd have more outside the building, but seven heavily agents was enough to stop…if it came to that. Jessica made it so that the DEO squad en-route made some unscheduled stops to buy a few more seconds of time.

"Hey Blondie, you ready to meet the local secret police?" Jessica called over her shoulder. The shower stopped. Carol squeaked as she apparently slipped and fell out of the shower from the sound of it. _A real charmer this one_, Jess thought with an eye-roll.

Jess considered for a moment. The kinds of threats she would like to make to the jack-booted thugs on their way to probably vivisect Carol were the types of threats she wasn't sure she was allowed to authorize. Well…_Ms. Luthor did say to treat Carol like she'd treat Ms. Luthor herself…_Jess was formulating a little plan.


	3. Carol Gets a Job

CHAPTER 3: Carol Gets Employed

Jessica pressed a button on the tablet, alerting the security on this floor to make their way over immediately. "Ms. Luthor, the DEO is here in full tactical gear. I think they aim to take Carol against her will," Jess said into the intercom in Lena's office. "I think we should employ her quickly. It could be like when we scare ICE away; nobody wants to talk to a bunch of lawyers and angry security guards without having a warrant."

"Very well. Bring Carol in immediately, and Jess, have her sign a contract." Lena responded after quickly

Jessica nodded to herself, "My thinking exactly, Ms. Luthor."

Jess marched into the room with Carol, who had just finished outfitting herself with the jacket, jeans and Supergirl t-shirt that had been lain out. "You guys are fucking with me right?" Carol said with a grin, pointing to the Supergirl shirt as she followed Jess back to Lena's office.

"It's just what was on hand," Jessica muttered. In fairness, she thought it was probably as ridiculous as Carol did that Lena would've had _that_ on hand as back-up clothes. Jess pulled up a contract on her tablet, which she handed to Carol. "There are government agents on our doorstep, probably here for you. If you sign this _generous _contract of employment, it'll give you some legal protections to delay any further action by the DEO. Anything else we do we'll discuss in a lead-protected room so Supergirl won't hear," Jess pointed to Supergirl as she finished.

"Supergirl is a traitor? Cause she sure as fuck isn't a normal human working with these black ops dudes," Carol replied.

"She's…ugh. She's on good terms with them _now_, but that's only because of circumstance. The last few months they've wanted her gone or splayed open and under the knife if you get my meaning," Jessica said grimly.

"Why does she work for associate herself with such assholes then?" Carol asked

as she straightened out her jacket, which just made her look even gayer.

"Their newly restored Director is really close with Supergirl. They have a history I think," Jess concluded.

Carol stopped to consider that for a moment. She reflected on her tangential relationship

with S.H.I.E.L.D. and how her loyalty to them was mostly due to Fury and later, Romanov. Even if she wasn't particularly _friendly _with them any longer after her long hiatus from Earth, she felt a slight pull to help S.H.I.E.L.D. if they'd have asked for it. Maybe Supergirl had a similar loyalty that shackled her to this black ops outfit despite their horrific crimes. Deep down, if they _could have _hurt her, Carol knew that S.H.I.E.L.D. would've _certainly _tried to experiment on her like an animal…like the Kree had done.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Carol turned back to Jess as they neared Lena's office again. "Just so we're clear, I don't have any monetary assets or property here. I.D. is also something I lack, along with character references or a resume," Carol said glumly, looking for all the world like a sulking teenager.

"Well, sign this here, here, and here, and we can work out a position for you later. You're strong right? Like, Supergirl strong?" Jess indicated the places Carol sloppily signed her name.

"Yeah. Stronger, actually, judging by that one punch." Carol said. Jess seemed to consider something and nodded to herself with a grin.

"Would you be willing to work as a bodyguard or something until we get this mess with the DEO sorted out?"

"It's not like I had other plans. I _do _have a military background, though that's not without its…complication," Carol finished lowly. Doubtlessly these new folk wouldn't be nearly as receptive to her if they knew how many innocent lives she either ended personally or was a party to their ending while in the Starforce.

"Fantastic. I'll just add _that_," Jess said as they rounded the corner to Lena Luthor's office; which was now filled with L-Corp's security force. Jess waved at them as she marched Carol right past them. Jessica was in charge of hiring most of them, and she definitely favoured the ex-special forces types. Though to be fair, around a quarter of them were former law enforcement officers, Marshals and the like, who were fired under circumstances where reading between the lines screamed either prejudice or incompetence on the part of their superiors. It didn't escape Carol that around half of the guards they passed were women. She smiled. "I just sent this to the required people internally. They'll get back to me in the next minute or so, I added an note for them to expedite this."

Carol and Jess entered Lena's office after Jess courteously knocked twice, "Ms. Luthor, we have two minutes before the DEO are on this floor, less if they sent a detachment to the stairs once they realised we were definitely stalling them," Jess said. Supergirl and Lena both had red eyes, had both been crying. But Lena recovered first, obviously.

"Well, Supergirl," Lena said hesitantly, "are you going to help them try and take my new…security consultant…under illegal arrest?"

Supergirl looked extremely uncomfortable. Lena wasn't sure if it was some kind of ethical dilemma, or if she was just apprehensive about swapping hands with her new employee. Or if she was extremely reluctant to be on Lena's shit list so soon after making baby-steps towards reconciliation.

"What is the DEO?" Carol askes.

"They protect the world from alien threats. They also detain aliens they don't like very much indefinitely without trial, despite recent legislation making that _strictly_ illegal. They also maintain a cover of secrecy, probably because at this point if they stepped into the public eye, some or all of the key operatives would be guilty of offences that could potentially lead to decades in prison. Also, _she's _one of them. Probably the one who tattled on you in the first place," Jessica summarised succinctly, pointing her pen at Supergirl, who seemed torn between being indignant and repentant.

Carol nodded for a moment. The DEO sounded like HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D. merged together, accepting both forms of ideology instead of split down the middle between assholes and well-meaning assholes. "Well. I'm not worried about them hurting me, but if they try to hurt me, it'll end real bad for them," Carol said at length.

Lena looked at Kara for a moment and said, "You should go. It wouldn't be good if Director Danvers thought you were siding with _me_," Lena finished with a dark chuckle.

"Director Danvers?" Carol asked before Kara could respond. "Am I related?" Carol wondered aloud.

"Why would you be?" Supergirl asked, eager to dodge Lena's hard request.

"I'm Captain Carol Danvers, formerly U.S. Air Force, but that would've been decades ago at this point, and on another Earth," Carol said flippantly. "I kinda want to meet this Director Danvers, do they have a first name?" Carol's grin of anticipation wasn't what anyone was really expecting.

"Her name is Alex," Supergirl said after a moment.

"Could you arrange a meeting? As much as I hugely appreciate your help, Lena, I can sense the danger in the air, and you're not gonna be putting yourself or your people in jeopardy for my sake," Carol said firmly to Lena.

"I'm not. I'm protecting you, yes, but I also just met you. They're trespassing without a warrant. And there's a two week waiting period for me to risk everything for you," Lena replied with a smirk. "Sent to HR, and done. Congratulations Carol, and welcome to L-Corp."

Carol giggled. "As long as you're sure about this. But I really would like to meet this other Danvers. I'm curious if there's like some alternate reality fuckery going on. She doesn't look like me does she?"

"No, she's a red head, and shorter. She looks to be around the same age though, maybe a little older." Lena supplied, still smiling a little.

"She's amazing," Supergirl muttered to herself.

"Is Alex your Girlfriend?" Carol asked with a raised eyebrow, smile on her lips.

"NO! OF COURSE NOT!" Supergirl's reflexive reaction could only be categorized as disgusted. And Carol's demeanour became much colder in response.

"Is having a girlfriend so repulsive to you? You hate gay people or something?" Carol asked with a notably hard expression, taking a menacing step towards Kara.

"Not at all! Alex is gay," Supergirl said, verbally stumbling, her hand brushed the corner of her eye, like she was looking for something that wasn't there. Something in her demeanour had Jessica nearly dropping her tablet. As it was, she barely caught it before righting herself. The others looked at the stunned secretary.

"Holy fuck it's _you_. You're Kara." Jess said softly. Lena's eyes glowed with pride at her secretary, while Kara's face showed fear, and then resignation.

Barrelling right past Jessica's revelation, Carol was busy doing some detective work, "So, _if _you're not homophobic, this Alex Danvers is family, right? 'Cause that reaction was _repulsed _by the implication you were fucking." Carol's coarse language and extremely juvenile accompanying scissor motion with her hands caused Kara to flinch and Lena to cringe a bit. Jess giggled. Carol continued, pacing around and waging her index finger like a Sherlock Holmes being played by an overzealous teenager. "Is Director Alex Danvers your mom? Auntie? Your sister? A wayward cousin? Is she just a raging shithead? Or maybe your daughter?" Carol continued to speculate.

Lena just looked between a panicking Kara Danvers, a Jessica who was now re-contextualizing every interaction she had with Kara/Supergirl, and an oblivious Carol. Carol Danvers, who had just uprooted a years old secret with the least amount of effort, without having a clue the magnitude of the secret she just discovered.

Lena did the sane thing: she burst out into hysterical laughter.

This went on for a couple uncomfortable moments before Kara maturely tapped her ear and said, "Have your people stand down now, Alex. There is no imminent threat. The extra-dimensional guest is a friendly. I think this would better solved over ice-cream, and a lot of alcohol. Please bring some of M'gann's rum for me too. It's gonna be one of those days."


	4. Lena Don't Play

CHAPTER 4: Lena Don't Play

Alex Danvers wasn't having the best day. The agents she sent to L-Corp to deal with the interloper were encountering armed resistance. The sensors at the DEO indicated there was only one alt-reality breacher, but she was a threat, obviously, and had to be dealt with. So when her agents reported that there was a small contingent of freakishly well-armed L-Corp security waiting for her agents, she was confused. _Aren't we on good terms? _

"Kara, what the fuck is going on?" Alex asked Kara, who had turned off her earpiece like a _dumbass_. There would be words about that later.

Kara's voice came over the line, "Have your people stand down now, Alex. There is no imminent threat. The extra-dimensional guest is a friendly. I think this would better solved over ice-cream, and a lot of alcohol. Please bring some of M'gann's rum for me too. It's gonna be one of those days."

"What the _fuck _is going on? Why are my agents being opposed with lethal force?" Alex asked, her teeth grating on each other enough for Kara to hear them.

"Things just got complicated, but not in a bad way. Lena and her assistant have taken a liking to Carol, the breacher. They don't trust the DEO, and–,"

Alex heard the earpiece yanked away. "Do your people have a warrant?" Lena's hardened tone came through the earpiece.

"Put Kara back on," Alex retorted.

"Kara, take Carol to your place and I'll meet you there. Fly out the window, to avoid any _unpleasantness _with the DEO." Lena quickly called Alex on her mobile, and handed the DEO-issued communicator back to Kara.

Carol looked between the two women with an air of bemusement. "You're not gonna try anything dumb right, Kara?" Kara almost balked at Carol knowing her name, but took a deep breath and just walked towards the balcony and offered a hand. "It's sweet you want to hold hands, but I can fly on my own," Carol said as she levitated to make her point. Kara's eyes widened while Lena just rolled her eyes. _God there were two of them now_.

"I need to talk to Alex for a moment, but we'll be along shortly. Jess, prepare the files I laid out last night. Send a copy to Director Danvers." Lena ordered. Kara and Carol jetted away, and Lena took a long breath before getting into it with the DEO Director.

Back at the DEO, Alex looked to Vasquez, who was back from the Desert Base. "You know."

"Yes. And before we get into it, I'd like to make clear for the umpteenth time, if my actions over the last several years weren't enough for you, I'd rather die than hurt or betray Kara's identity. But I think it's time you and I need to have a real talk, so I want you to look over what I had Jess just send to you. And then I want you to consider the ramifications of that being presented to the International Criminal Court at the Hague. Tell your people in and around my building to stand down now, Alex. I will not be bullied any longer." Jess offered a small thumbs up gesure.

Lena's tone wasn't violent or angry. Which is exactly why Alex's skin tingled with a bit of fear as Vasquez pulled up the files Lena had her secretary send over. It was a catalogue in evidence. It was all laid out neatly, but Alex browsed through it quickly, wanting to get this thing settled. But as she began to read the detailed list that Lena and/or Jessica Huang had compiled, her anger melted away.

Highly illegal cyber espionage the DEO perpetrated against L-Corp, the Senate Intelligence Committee's servers, the White House staff including President Baker's personal servers, CATCO, Kane Industries, Wayne Enterprises, The Daily Planet, Lord Industries, the Kaznian ministries of War and State, and a host of others.

But that's not what chilled Alex to the core. That was just the mildly questionable stuff to Alex. But as Vasquez navigated to the next several pages of the document, it listed every single prisoner the DEO held, and their reasons for indefinite internment; though more often, lack thereof.

Weapons contracts that were signed off by Lex Luthor for Kryptonite weaponry. Among the list of weapons LuthorCorp provided was the sword Alex Danvers used to kill Krypton's High Gerneral Astra In-Ze, Supergirl's last living relative from Krypton. Lena's document phrased it exactly like that. The weapons the DEO helped develop with LuthorCorp certainly put a new spin on Lex's narrative. He believed, rightly so, that he had the DEO's financial and moral blessing to hunt Superman they way he did. There was even evidence the DEO knew about the attack that finally turned the public against Luthor. There were also the internal memos that falsely denied knowledge of such plans after the fact.

The repeated denial of providing Supergirl protection against Kryptonite-resistant armour was a thing that surprised even Alex; she hadn't known her Winn had requested that for Kara, and was denied by higher up the food chain. It wasn't a crime per-say, but Lena had obviously come to the conclusion the public's reaction to the Government wanting Supergirl vulnerable would be unfavourable.

On page 9, there was the evidence that DEO personnel had released the Kryptonite into the atmosphere, and beyond the immediate attempted genocide against Supergirl and Superman (along with any other Kryptonians) were the reports of Cancer cases across the country that were thought to be the direct result of this action.

It also documented the DEO's torture of General Astra led by acting Director Samuel Lane, and his continued inks to Cadmus even now. There were wire transfers of funds to the Children of Liberty from General Lane.

It documented former Director Henshaw's coercion of Jeremiah Danvers and the experiments Dr. Danvers performed on numerous aliens before being acquired by DEO-backed Cadmus.

Alex almost choked as she saw this: there was horrifying detail put into the description of the vivisections her father performed on living subjects, some of them alien children (with no aesthetic of course), under the DEO's authority. It also documented that Alex allowed her father to go free with the entire Alien Registry; which was a catastrophic breach of protocol and ethics, which technically counted treason, giving government intelligence like that to a known terrorist organization.

The human experimentation that Cadmus was capable of only because of DEO funding, which was still happening as recent as Baker's short term presidency thanks to changes to the budget made by Colonel Haley. Hayley's numerous crimes were nauseatingly described in details that could've only come from her personal journals. While some of them were certainly not-sancioned by J'onn's DEO, all of them were by Henshaw's, which was when she was most active.

All of Jeremiah's crimes while employed by the DEO were listed as well, which were akin to the experiments performed on the Jews and Chinese by Germany's Third Reich and Japan's Unit 731 respectively. In addition to Jeremiah's crimes, General Lane's orders to vivisect J'onn J'onzz and brainwash and modify Alexandra Danvers similarly to Henshaw were catalogued as well.

The paperwork regarding Supergirl's being officially deputized despite being unpaid and without any benefits was there as well. It wasn't a crime. It was a small thing in comparison to the Nuremburg Trial-levels of awful that came before it. But Lena was obviously pissed that Supergirl's work wasn't being rewarded as long as she was 'working' for the DEO. It was the principal of the thing. Alex had to take a moment to consider that Lena was angry at the DEO on behalf of Supergirl. It didn't sit well with Alex for reasons she wasn't ready to be introspective about yet.

Lena had everything, even the transcripts from the DEO's first 'official' contact with Supergirl, when Agent Alex Danvers had ordered her shot out of the sky with Kryptonite despite having committed no crimes.

It was basically Alex's worst fears summed up in one document. It would at the very least, drag the DEO into the light, kicking and screaming. More realistically, Alex and whole lot of others would become international fugitives. The predictable outrage would be terrible. there would be no hiding for any of the DEO's agents involved, which was basically all of them.

"How…how did you get this?" Alex asked.

"Is that really the question you should be asking Director?" Lena replied.

"I need to know," Alex repeated.

Lena let out a sigh, "Did you think L-Corp wouldn't notice when the Toyman's son Mr. Winslow Schott Jr. hacked us? I don't hold that unfortunate lineage against Winn, but he certainly held my brother's crimes against me, or at least, didn't stand up for me when he was ordered to commit crimes against me without substantiated evidence of wrongdoing on my part." Lena took a breath. Vasquez was looking at Alex, clearly not knowing what to do.

Alex was lost for words, but Lena continued anyway, "My loyal IT department recorded the attack, and decided to retaliate. They came to Jessica during the Reign crisis with what they had compiled, and she told me once Samantha had returned to Metropolis. I told them to sit on what they knew, after signing some binding NDA's of course. But I also told them to keep digging. I've noticed how you've always treated me Alex. Recently, it's been a lot better actually, but I don't think you'll ever trust me. Not with the things I've seen you're capable of in the loose name of 'protecting Kara'. I'm not naïve, even if I was hoping for a real friendship you, you'll always have one of your people have a gun pointed at me, metaphorically _and _literally. Tell me I'm wrong."

Alex was suffering from emotional overload. She was furious Lena had the DEO by the throat, furious that she didn't see this coming, sad that she knew that she had pushed Lena to this, shameful that she had been complicit in horrors she knew her superiors were committing…but she settle on despair, because Lena was right. She'd never trust a Luthor, whatever her softhearted sister said.

"So what is this, mutually assured destruction?" Alex said glumly.

"Nothing mutual about it. If you don't tell your jack-booted thugs to get the fuck off my property, this is going to the desk of the Secretary General of the UN and Lois Lane among others."

"Not Kara?" Alex couldn't help but quip, earning a well-deserved frown from Vasquez.

"I'm not going to ask her to put you before the fire like that. I'm not a monster," Lena said with a wave of her hand. "CATCO is too involved with it all to publish a story like that without appearance of bias, but we're getting off topic. There was a woman who appeared in my office today, and your response was to send your troops here to take her by force. Is that how you'd have handled Kara's arrival to Earth, if she arrived right now?"

Alex stopped cold her fiery reply with Lena's last words. It made her think. She didn't like where her thoughts went. "So, where does this leave us?"

Lena walked over to her balcony and said, "You need to fix the DEO. The aliens you're keeping in lockup need trials. Just be _better_, Alex. You're not a bad person, but you've done terrible things, far worse than I've done, and it's unlikely you'll ever answer for them. Christ, just redeem yourself. If you want help keeping away vultures like General Lane, I'll help with that. But you need to go public. The DEO existed in the shadows when the 'alien threat' was a secret one. But that time is over. They are legal citizens, and you're running a neo-Gestapo outfit that sews fear, and only feeds terrorists like Lockwood and my mother's ideology. You must see that the DEO has more in common with how they operate than they do with the NCPD, right? I'm not even talking about oversight, I'm talking about the fact that I've sat through hours of footage watching screaming alien children dissected by your father begging for their mommies."

Alex flinched at the end there, "So if I don't go public, you'll release those files? You're associated with us now too, the public won't like that."

Lena nodded to herself, "The difference is that I was obviously working with terminal patients who gave full consent to the Harun-El trials. And I've been vilified by the press no matter what I've done to help this ungrateful city. I'm used to it. I can take it. So yeah, if you don't go public in the next week, I'll send out that dossier."

"If I go down like this, you'll break Kara's heart." Alex responded.

"You butchered her aunt in front of her, to save your employer. And she loves you more than anything, so I'm pretty sure she'll eventually talk to me again if you go to prison for your own actions, even if I'm the one who brings attention to them," Lena's response was callous, but true, and Alex knew it.

"She's got us over a barrel boss," Vasquez muttered.

"Fine. We'll go public, but there are seriously dangerous aliens in lockup here, how do you think we should handle that. Releasing them pending trial would be a terrible idea." Alex said, knowing the battle was ultimately lost.

"How many of them are there because they just look scary? Or didn't speak English and resisted arrest because you pointed weapons in their faces? I'm not a bleeding-heart alien rights activist Alex, I'm not a fool. I _know _some of them probably deserve to be shot in the head, but not _most _of them, and I think you know that. I'm not saying you should let the murderers free, but that's why we have a bail system, flawed though it is. I'll leave that up to you, but you need to start thinking about public perception for an organization that yes, has saved the world, but also casually violates the Geneva Conventions and other human rights clauses in our own legislation. Aliens for better or worse who were in America when President Marsden signed the Amnesty Act were made citizens. You're running what amounts to a cushy concentration camp. Fix it." Lena took a breath.

Alex let out a long-suffering sigh, "Team 2, team 3, team 5, stand down and return to base. We're done here today." There was a cacophony of acknowledgments from her team leaders as they all retreated from L-Corp.

"They're gone, Ms. Luthor," Jess confirmed a couple minutes later after CCTV confirmed the block ops teams left the block.

"Very well, let's join the others at Kara's," Lena supplied as she pulled a stylish red jacket on.

"The new alien, is she really not a threat? What's your honest opinion of her?" Alex asked.

"She's stronger than your sister, and is probably 150% gayer than you. Her name is also Danvers, so…I think she's probably fine."

"Shit, really? Is she a doppelganger? Alex asked.

"No. But she's blonde, and can fly. Did your dad have any sisters? She was remarkably chill about armed agents being here for her. Like, she wasn't scared at all, told me that she didn't want me making trouble for myself over her. So I'm not overly confident your agents could stop her. I can't stress enough that making an enemy of Carol Danvers would be a _terrible _idea." Lena finished as she prepared her purse.

Alex was pacing back and forth. She was not put at ease with Lena's casual admittance that Carol was stronger than Kara. She briefly considered having a sniper come with her, but decided that would be foolish. "She's Kryptonian?"

"She had blue blood and yanked a sword out of her heart like it was nothing. I don't think kryptonite will have the affect you're imagining. Jesus Alex, just meet her before you try and fail to murder her. Doesn't the DEO have any 'first contact' protocols that doesn't involve violence? Wait, don't answer that, you don't, I've checked," Lena huffed.

"Goddammit fine. I'll meet you guys there. Kara just texted me that she and _Carol_ picked up an ungodly amount of ice cream. Apparently Carol is as much of a derp as Kara is," Alex sighed. She was doing that a lot today. "Do we have a cease-fire?"

"If you stop running the DEO like the Nazis would then yeah," Lena replied promptly.

Alex flinched at the unwanted comparison. "Alright then. I'll meet you at Kara's place." and with that, Alex hung up.

"For the record boss, I think the mean lady's got some points," Vasquez chirped up.

"Yeah I know. I just _hate _the way she threatened us like that." Alex admitted.

"We sent men with guns into her building with orders to capture or kill the enteloper…Carol…we started it." Vasquez responded casually.

Alex looked down at where Vasquez was sitting in her chair and shrugged, "You're getting a raise. I don't like it, but I need people around me who talk back when I need it." And with that, Alex stormed out of the DEO and prepared herself to meet this new girl.

Jessica looked at Lena after she hung up. "Ms. Luthor, you've never been hotter than when you dressed Director Danvers down like that."

Lena burst into laughter at Jess' tease. "Thanks Jess, I'll make a note of that."

"Seriously though, you probably just saved a lot of lives by forcing the DEO to become public in the long-run," Jess sobered up.

"Well, you and your team did most of the leg-work, I just added notes on it all. I'm gonna head out. Hold down the fort while I'm out."

"Ms. Luthor?" Jessica asked, for the first time that day looking less than absolutely confident.

"Yes?" Lena asked as she turned back from the elevator.

"Could you get me Supergirl–Kara's autograph for my children? And maybe Carol's? I think she'll be popular before long." Jessica blushed at the almost silly request.

Lena laughed out loud, but quickly followed up with, "Of course, Jess. Of course."


	5. Real Talk

CHAPTER 5: Kara Gets Some Real Talk

"So you can glow?" Superwoman/Supergirl/Kara said with a slightly jealous pout. Carol realized she'd need to decide on what to call the blonde with the cape. Carol brought her fingers up to the back of her neck, then flicked them forward as if she was flicking water in Kara's face. Instead of water, Carol's finger brought forth a purple holo-screen. It was littered in glyphs and letters that Kara simply couldn't recognize, much less read before Carol tapped a couple of times, before forming a swift fist thus dispersing it just as quickly. She then turned to Kara with an amused smirk at the other blonde's dumfounded expression.

"Yep. So, you wanna tell me why Lena's all cut up about you right now? I feel really in the dark," Carol replied as she leaned forward with the first of potentially many pints of ice cream in hand.

"What's that hologram thing?" Kara asked, delaying Carol's inevitable inquisition.

"An implant. I originally had it on my suit, but I upgraded. I was checking to see if there were any familiar frequencies in this sector. There were not." Carol said with a shrug. "I guess the aliens I'm used to don't exist in this universe." Carol didn't seem to bothered by this seeming revelation, but that was too big of a topic for Kara to bring up at the moment. They'd just met after all. Carol seized on Kara's moment of hesitation to continue her inquest into Kara and Lena's _spat_. "So why was Lena holding back tears the moment you showed up?"

Kara did not appreciate Carol's bluntness at all, "Don't you already know? Didn't Lena tell you?" Kara's tone couldn't help but be a little bitter.

"I know Jessica better, and by better, I mean I know that she taps her feet on the ground when she gets impatient and hums the theme to _Friends_. Not everyone's perfect I guess. I only showed up like an hour ago lady." Carol said with a shrug.

Kara's jaw was doing an interesting twitching thing while she tried to decipher if Carol was telling the truth, but she started asking more questions anyway. How could she not? "What are you? I was holding back a little on that punch, but even still, not many can just _catch _one of my punches so casually."

Carol replied, "Answer my question first, and I think I'll wait for Lena and armchair quarterback to arrive to explain more about myself."

Kara wanted to reply in the negative, but realised pretty quickly as she observed Carol's serene expression as she dug into the pint of ice cream, totally unbothered, that she wasn't getting anything out of Carol by force. After Carol had finished almost the entire first pint, Kara let out a sigh and said, "I didn't tell her that I was an Alien, Supergirl no less. And I don't know if we'll be okay again."

Carol looked up at the despondent expression on Kara's face. "Why not?"

"To which question?" Kara asked as she took off her glasses and placed them on the table. She was in her 'Kara Danvers' clothes, but without the glasses, she _felt _a little more like herself.

"Why did you lie to her?" Carol asked. Kara flinched. "Look kid, I don't really have that much of an emotional investment here, so you have only to gain in rehearsing your answer with me before you properly come clean to Lena."

"To protect her, of course." Kara responded automatically.

"Really?" Carol huffed out a hollow laugh.

"Yes. Why are you looking at me like that," Kara accused.

Carol's demeanour subtlety changed from snarky and aloof to aggressive and cool. "Alight, you want to protect damsel in distress. Do you really see yourself as a White Knight in shining armour who swoops in to save the day?"

Kara flinched at the comparison. "No! I don't see Lena as some ditzy damsel in distress?"

"Oh? Could've fooled me with how you literally swooped in fists swinging." Carol leered.

"You could've tried to kill her!" Kara grit out.

"You were Johnny-on-the-spot though, is she attacked often?" Carol asked.

"Yes. She's the CEO of one of the most controversial companies in the country, _despite _all the good she's done since being in charge."

Carol weighed that comment. "Bad history?"

"You can't imagine," Kara replied shortly. "Her family are monsters who used it to supplement their genocidal agenda."

"And Lena isn't in the business of genocide?" Carol replied.

"OF COURSE NOT," Kara seethed. She didn't shout, but she didn't need to for Carol to absorb how close the issue was to Kara.

"I'm guessing neither the public don't agree with you then?" Carol probed further.

"Not nearly as much as they should," Kara settled on.

Carol tilted her head as she realised she had gotten slightly side-tracked. "So I'm guessing that she's in a bit more danger than your garden variety human right? That sounds like a lot of potential enemies."

"Yeah. If it's not her own family, it's business rivals; and if when it's not them, it's neo-nazi anti-alien zealots." Kara's expression darkened as she listed Lena's greatest dangers.

Carol nodded, taking in the new information, "So, I take it she needs a lot of protection then, got it. Let's go back to your keeping your superness away from her. Why is she better off not knowing?"

"Because if my enemies knew how close she was to me, they'd use it against both of us." Kara replied. Carol noted this sounded as automatic as her initial 'for her protection'.

"Do any of your enemies know who you are?" Carol asked.

Kara flinched before replying, "Yes."

Carol rolled her eyes, "Okay, so doesn't that invalidate that argument? Like, if I was your enemy, and I knew Kara _Danvers_ was close to Lena, and also was secretly Supergirl, what's to stop me from just going after Lena to get you to do something, I don't know, steal some military secrets or something."

Kara grit her teeth, reminded of how Rick Malvern had drowned Alex. "That's already happened with my _sister_. It just proved that the people close to me are in danger just because they know me."

"Yeah it does. What it doesn't prove, is that Lena would be in danger by knowing who you really are and what you can _do_." Carol shrugged off Kara's glare. "Paint me a picture, how is Lena protected _by being in the dark_, when _known enemies _of yours and by extension _hers_, that you haven't disposed of, are already in the know? Tell me if I'm wrong, but if they already know that Lena's close to you, it makes her a target regardless of whether she knows or not. Right?"

Kara huffed out a breath, ignoring for the moment Carol's casual insinuation of _murder_ and addressed her final question. "Yes."

"Alright. So what's the problem with her knowing? Obviously you're comfortable enough with people who you've already described to me as _threats_ to Lena's _life_ knowing who you are."

"Of course I'm not _comfortable–_,"

"Then why are they still alive? Prison hasn't stopped them has it?" Carol asked, genuinely baffled. She got up to refill her pint of ice cream, there were at least 16 in the freezer.

"Well, no," Kara admitted, "But I can't just go around _murdering people_," Kara exploded.

Carol held up a hand, "Obviously prison hasn't deterred them right? And you have the power to stop them from killing those you love. Why you continue to place the lives of those close to you in the hands of their would-be murderers is a discussion for later. I look forward to it, but I'm getting distracted again." Carol finished with a small chuckle. "Here's a hypothetical, I show up in Lena's office and want her dead. I've gotten past her security; while impressive by human standards, I'd literally cut through them like red butter, probably monologuing the whole time. Lena knows something terrible is happening, who does she call in the scant seconds before I walk in and throw her pretty ass off her balcony or shoot her, or snap her neck, or take my time with said pretty ass–,"

Kara snarled, her hands squeezed the granite counter hard enough to cause webbed cracks, but Carol held up a placating hand, "I would never do that Kara, but most _bad guys_ wouldn't pass up that opportunity, no matter how morally hideous you or I find it, and if you don't recognize that then you should find a different gig. This isn't a Saturday morning special where the bad guys are goofs. So, does Lena call _Kara Danvers_? Doubtful, what would a reporter do? Or would she dial 911? Or call your super-secret police sister, who'd take minutes to mobilise or forward the call to you? Who's she gonna call?"

Kara tried to take a breath to steady herself. Carol's hypothetical situation hit too close to home as Lena _had _in fact been at the mercy of Lillian's henchmen and been thrown from her balcony. The fact she was on a call with Kara had been a coincidence. Carol decided Kara was taking too long to answer. The obviously provocative tone Carol used to make dark point before was gone. "Kara, the truth is, if her first call isn't _Supergirl _because she just doesn't know you're a call away…her blood or _trauma_ is on your hands."

Kara had become noticeably paler the longer the conversation went on this dark path. Carol let out a sigh. "Look kid, you obviously care about Lena, like a lot. I can see it whenever you say her name. We've established that your 'ignorance is protection' argument is a lie to yourself and everyone else. So will take a fucking moment, and be honest with yourself?" Carol asked. "Why have you been lying to Lena for years?"

Kara's mouth opened and closed a few times, trying and failing to form words at first. Kara finally broke, "I didn't _know_ her at first. And then I did, and that escalation of _friendship_ took me by surprise," Kara's expression became remarkably introspective. For the first time that day, Kara had Captain Marvel's full attention. "She became _irreplaceable _to me. And by that time I had only known her for about half a year. Half a year…less than that if I'm being totally honest; and she was already the closest friend I'd ever had. And the grace period to tell her _the secret_ without fallout was over. There was no way forward without pain, and I realised I _couldn't _lose her. I _can't_! I've already lost _everything_, and I know I was cowardly, that I _am a coward_, but I couldn't risk losing her. I can't, Carol." Kara's speech was getting faster as her latent emotions caught up with her. Carol could see tears forming in the blonde's face. Maybe Carol underestimated how much of an emotional powder keg this situation was; _oh well_.

Carol smiled softly, nonverbally indicating Kara to continue with her emotional breakthrough. Kara stifled a sob, seemingly unable to stop herself from talking to this weirdly calm stranger. "And now I might lose her anyway, and I don't…I don't even have a compelling logical reason why she should continue to even associate with me. I've been the _worst _friend, I betrayed her trust! I fly around and save people every day. I'm literally a _superhero._ But I'm just another in a long line of villains in the life of someone I love. I'm _exactly _the kind of villain in her life that she gravitated to me to _avoid in the first place_." Kara had tears coursing down her tears in earnest now. Carol wordlessly passed her the glass of water she'd procured for herself; Kara took several long pulls from it, draining the glass.

"I didn't just lie to her, I pulled her into a circle of friend where everyone else knows _the_ _secret _and I _still _didn't tell her. I didn't know how. It was easy in a way, the deception. The worst part is that I know what it's like to be blindsided by stuff, and how furious I was with the responsible parties. But the price of any continued real anger with them would've destroyed those relationships. I didn't want Lena to end this friendship, even if she'd be in the right to do it. I don't know how to explain to her that I love her, and Lena not even knowing my _name _has steadily become the biggest regret of my life.

And it doesn't fucking matter because I'm in the wrong. I'm such a fucking coward Carol. I didn't tell her all those times I should have! I don't even deserve to be her friend. I really don't. Friends don't hurt the people they love like I hurt Lena. She said once that she didn't have _family _like _me. _Like ME. Well I sure prove her wrong didn't I? I don't want to lose her Carol, I don't know _how to. _But I'm probably gonna lose her anyway because I f-fucked up so bad. This is the worst thing I've ever done, and I'm so s-sorry. I–I–I don't know what to do now she knows. I don't want to guilt her into being my friend. I c-couldn't do that to her. She deserves so much b-better than I've treated her, than everyone has. She deserves the world Carol. She deserves people who love her and _don't _lie to her. I'm just another abusive asshole, and I never stopped to question myself. She's the best of us. And I don't know what to do. I don't know w-what I-I'm going to do," Kara had begun to completely break down. There were sobs interspersed with her words and her tears had begun soaking the t-shirt she was wearing. Carol sat there watching and decided that she should say something since Kara had stopped talking and was just sobbing now.

"You really love her huh?" Carol winced at her response.

"Y-Yeah." Kara managed as she frantically scrubbed at her eyes, even as she hiccupped. "You can't tell her that though," Kara said, recovering a little of herself. "I'm can't guilt her into keeping me in her life. I don't want to be the bad guy anymore. And if she knows, she's so damn self-sacrificing she might forgive me because of my feelings for her."

"You'd rather her not forgive you than forgive you because despite how you've treated her, you love her? Isn't that basically just keeping another secret?" Carol reasoned out loud.

"I don't know," Kara wailed. "I don't want to manipulate her either way. If I tell her I love her, I'm manipulating her into forgiving me. If I don't tell her I love her, it would be denying _another _part of myself from her that might inform her decision. I've made such a mess and I don't know what to do! Everything hurts." Kara moaned as she sank her head downwards hard enough to fracture the granite, but she was crying so hard again that she didn't even care.

Carol was looking at her with a bit of a grimace. _I guess I made this whole thing messier huh?_ She thought to herself. Carol also knew part of Kara was never gonna forgive her for the trick she had pulled. Carol moved her hand to the nape of her neck, and disabled the audio/visual feed that she had been streaming to a certain tablet since the start of the conversation. A few minutes of silence later, other than Kara's crying, there was a soft knock on the door.

The knock on the door startled Kara off the counter. Before she could react, Carol was across the room and opened the door to reveal Lena herself. She was livid.

Before Kara could say anything, Lena slapped Carol across the face. Carol moved with the slap, so Lena didn't suffer any damage, but the Luthor's sentiment was communicated succinctly. Carol wasn't even fazed. "You're welcome," Carol said as she made to leave the apartment herself. "I'll wait up for Danvers #3 and take her elsewhere, to give you two the time both clearly need to uh, do what you need to do." Carol raised both hands to do some kind of gesture, but Lena's piercing glare made Carol reconsider.

"You had no right to do what you just did. You're an emotional terrorist," Lena hissed at Carol. Kara was at a loss to understand the interaction in front of her.

Carol shrugged, unrepentant, "I'm okay with that label. Somebody had to do something." Lena was almost trembling with anger. Carol ignored the fuming CEO and looked over to a baffled Kara, who was frantically trying to erase her tear tracks. Carol looked at the younger hero with a genuine smile, "Don't waste this chance Superwoman."

With that, Carol was out the door and calling out to Alex, who was apparently only a minute behind Lena.

"What just happened?" Kara asked. Lena visibly tried to calm herself down as she walked over to the superhero, looking harrowed.

"Kara, I'm so sorry. By the time I realised what Carol had done, I couldn't look away, I'm so sorry." Lena's voice was trembling.

Kara tilted her head in confusion, looking genuinely concerned at Lena's obvious remorse. "Lena, what's going on?"

Lena lifted her tablet and placed it on the fractured counter as she took Carol's former seat. The last image was Kara face down on the counter, like she had been just before Lena had come in. "Carol recorded the whole conversation you just had, and streamed it to my tablet." Lena got out. "She violated your privacy, and your trust, and I'm a part of that now."

Kara looked at Lena uncomprehendingly for a moment before closing her eyes, obviously trying to reign in a slew of emotions. Once her facial expressions had somewhat settled, Kara opened her eyes and looked at Lena. "You're unreal, you know that? You're so good. You think you should feel _guilt _right now? Are you kidding me? Carol's an asshole. And you think you're somehow in the wrong? Lena there is nothing to be sorry for. NOTHING. There is NO way you're in the wrong here." Lena looked small. So Kara tentatively brought her into a hug.

"Do you really love me?" Lena asked in a small voice.

Kara stiffened, and let out a hoarse breath, "I wish I got to tell you that myself first, but yeah. I really do. But don't you dare forgive me just because of that okay? Please?"

Lena chuckled into Kara's collarbone. "Oh, don't worry about that. I haven't forgiven you yet. But you should…" Lena pulled back and looked the taller woman in the eyes, "I love you too Kara. That's why it hurts so much. But for now, can you just hold me?" Lena's voice grew softer as she went on.

Kara let out a breath and choked laugh, "Yeah, Lena. I can definitely do that."


	6. Two Danvers Walk Into A Bar

CHAPTER 6: Two Danvers Walk Into A Bar

Carol skipped down the hallway as the door to Kara's apartment closed. A woman a couple inches shorter than her with a very butch dark red haircut was standing on the landing of the stairs peering at her suspiciously. "Hi! I'm Carol," Captain Marvel said as she bounced up to the shorter woman, offering her hand.

"I'm Director Danvers," Alex said as she cautiously held out her hand. Carol noticed the shorter woman's tensing at her presence. Carol's smile turned into a smirk as she accepted the handshake; albeit with a surname. "So you're the one who's provoked this _shit storm_."

Carol's jaw twitched before she responded with something that Alex wasn't expecting at all. "Okay, look. Before I start flirting with you, I'm gonna need some kind of confirmation that we aren't related. Unlike you and Superwoman," Alex's eyebrow quirked at that deliberate deviation from Kara's superhero moniker, "_We _might actually be related. And for the moment, Kara and Lena need to have a serious heart to heart that'll probably involve some yelling, some alcohol, and hopefully some more yelling, but the _fun_ kind."

Alex straight up cringed at Carol's absolute lack of tact. "Why do I get the sense you want to get out of this building as fast as possible?"

"'Cause I do," Carol replied flippantly as she practically dragged Alex along with her back down the stairs. "You and I are gonna have a talk about this strange new world I've found myself in, okay? Awesome."

"If you've hurt Kara, I swear to–,"Alex started as her legs began to carry her more than Carol already was.  
"I did no such thing. That girl is a cinnamon roll. Well, maybe a cinnamon roll that's a masterful liar, but her heart is a good one; even if it wasn't in the right place regarding lying to Lena." Carol said as she held the door outside open to the shorter Danvers. "Okay, so maybe Kara's a bit of an emotional disaster, but things are looking up now!" Carol was talking with a cheer that belied the hasty manner she was escorting Alex to the exit.

"So what the fuck are you doing?" Alex asked pointedly as she gestured to her feet, which were a solid three inches above the floor.

Carol shrugged sheepishly. "I did a naughty thing, and now Kara and Lena are gonna properly talk things out like the gay…bi?...disasters they are. But I may need to stay away from Lena until she calms down…she's fucking terrifying," Carol muttered the last bit; replaying Lena's fierce look of rage gave Carol chills though she'd be loathe to admit it aloud.

"What. Did. You. Do." Alex ground out as Carol swung the building's doors open.

"I got Kara to confess to me how she really felt about Lena and this whole situation. But I was streaming it to Lena's tablet in order for the green eyed lady to get the full unvarnished truth for once in her life. Her whole demeanour screams 'I've been lied to by everyone I love', you know?" Carol said without flinching.

Alex's jaw twitched as she processed what Carol said. "Are they okay then?" she settled on.

As if on cue, Alex's phone lit up with a text from Kara: _Carol is GOOD PEOPLE. Even if Lena says she's an emotional terrorist. Treat her like a friend-ish person please? Even though she's an arse-biscuit for making Lena so cross. _Alex snorted and stowed her mobile, suddenly much more willing to indulge the tallest Danvers.

Carol turned around and looked down at the other Danvers. "Yep. Or, at least I set them on a path where they should be fine. No guarantees though. Now that that's resolved, let's go talk somewhere. You know any good bars around here?"

Alex's expression said things were very much _not _resolved, but after sixteen years of being Kara's sister, she knew fighting a taller blonde and excited force of nature was a nonstarter. Resistance was futile.

To Alex's chagrin, they both got on Alex's motorcycle since Carol couldn't just fly there without specific directions. Less than half an hour later they found themselves at the alien bar. Carol wasn't obvious about it, but she was peering around the place, trying to place the non-terrestrial customers. "See anyone familiar?"

Carol shook her head in something akin to wonderment, "Not at all. And it's not just that; I don't recognize _any _of these races."

"Well that can't be so surprising right? It's a big world out there," Alex said calmly as she hailed a waitress to take their order. They were in a booth rather than at the bar.

"A big, wide, _cosmos_ I've spent the better part of thirty years flying around and saving. Trust me, I'm one of the _most _knowledgeable about non-human races speckled throughout the stars. I'm not only _not _seeing any familiar species, but entirely foreign ones. This is so cool!" Carol finished with a startlingly childlike grin that took the usually dour Alex by surprise.

"Thirty years? You look like you're my age," Alex muttered with more than a hint of jealousy.

"We've been over this I think? I was born in 1960. My daughter is in her mid-thirties, so I'm definitely old enough to be your mom. Oh my god, am I your mom in this universe?" Carol asked with a maniacal grin that dwarfed her previous one.

"No. Thank God," Alex deadpanned. Carol cackled at that.

"Damn. I have a feeling I'd be damn proud of you if I were, even if you are a little bit of an asshole. I wish I could say you got it from me," Carol said with a casual wave of her hand, summoning M'gann the bartender. She missed Alex's blush at the perhaps misplaced maternal pride. It was close enough, and she'd take it.

"Thanks," Alex said quietly.

Carol turned back to her and awkwardly one-arm hugged the shorter woman. "So, what does your sister drink here? I have a feeling not even Everclear would do it for her. Is Superwoman Asgardian?"

"Arse-what? No. Definitely not," Alex said.

M'gann comes over with Alex's usual. "What would you like dear?"

Carol considers for a moment before saying, "I'm not gonna have alcohol, though I'd love a mocktail if you make those." Carol tossed a side-glance at Alex and asks, "That's cool with you right?" Alex looks slightly taken aback by Carol's non-alcoholic order but she recovers herself and asks M'gann for her usual whiskey.

"I can whip something up, no problem. I'll have that for you in a sec, and yours too Alex. It's good to see you back here." M'gann says as she walks off to get the Alex's whiskey and make Carol's drink.

Before Alex could ask about Carol's drink choice, the blonde asks, "So she's not Asgardian huh? It's just that, there are _not _that many aliens in base-form who can simply out-muscle me.. Not even the Mad Titan. Fucking cheater that one. Couldn't hack it without power steroids. Fucking weakling," Carol muttered darkly. Alex decided to let that curious comment go for now, she didn't trust the deep-seated hatred flashing across Carol's eyes in that moment.

"She's Kryptonian. And she's basically the last one who remembers her planet." Alex said softly.

Carol's cheerful expression falters a little, "Shit. Is the planet uninhabitable or just…" Carol makes a planetary explosion gesture, with sound effects, that draws more than one irritated eye from their nearest patrons. Carol was not the one for tact, at all.

"Yeah. That." Alex said as she took a pull from her whiskey.

"Fuck. I've…I've seen that kind of thing before," Carol replied slowly with a dark look that Alex wasn't sure what to do with.

"Was your planet…" Alex asked quietly.

Carol shook her head violently, "No. Definitely not. It's just a situation I'm more familiar with than I'd like to be is all. Can we talk about something else?" Carol askes calmly. Only the gentlest quiver in her voice clues Alex into the sudden anxiety Carol was obviously starting to lose the battle with.

"Sure. You're from Earth right? What's your family like? If we _are _related here, you'd probably be related to my…my dad's side of the family," Alex said. She wasn't sure she recovered herself from her slip up while mentioning her father, but Carol looked deep in thought. Hopefully she missed it?

"My family is…complicated." Carol said slowly, that same thoughtful look in her eyes.

"Here's your drinks! I made you a tropical mocktail with some lychee thrown in, I hope you like it," M'gann said almost bashfully as she walked up to them with two glasses.

"Thanks, M'gann," Alex said with a genuine smile. She'd long since made peace with the White Martian being on Earth.

Carol sipped her brightly coloured mocktail and broke out into what Alex was beginning to recognize as the blonde Danvers' signature smirk, "It's sexy. Thanks for taking the extra time for me," Carol winked at the now blushing M'gann. M'gann meeped out a flustered thanks and went to attend one of the other patrons.

"Is she single?" Carol wondered aloud.

"I'm not sure," Alex replied. "Are you really an uncontrollable flirt?"

"I can tell you're uncomfortable, sorry about that," Carol shrugged.

"No. It's just…a little jealous how easy it is to you," Alex muttered quietly.

Carol turned her full attention to Alex. "Easy? Nothing about it is _easy_." Carol's tone was angry, but with poise that took Alex aback, Carol reigned in her anger and said, "I guess I've just been doing it a while is all."

Alex was sure that _wasn't _what Carol was _going _to say, but definitely took the change in demeanour as a victory. Alex may be a badass, but she did _not _want somebody who could go hand-to-hand with Kara angry with her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry." Alex said.

Carol shook her head. "It's fine. Or, it's not _fine_. But it's not _you _I'm angry at. When I was your age being a lesbian was _not okay_ in any sense considering where I was in both my personal and professional lives. So you saying that flirting casually was easy just sort of poked a sore spot I've been nursing for a few decades is all."

Alex wasn't exactly sure what to say to that. Sure, Carol was obviously cocky, irreverent, and funny, but the casual way Carol said _'decades'_ and _'your age'_ reminded Alex that Carol was in fact twice her age; having grown up in a very different America than the one she recognized. It just didn't really _show _until now. It wasn't like Carol was hiding it; Alex just didn't connect the dots on a deeper lever until just now. In her mind, Alex tried to picture Carol looking like her true age, with wrinkles and slightly sagging skin, maybe some visible sun damage, perhaps a little shorter; but it just didn't really form in her head. It was almost like Carol just _was_ the age she appeared to be.

"Sorry I brought down the mood," Carol huffed.

"No! It just didn't really hit me until now that you're actually _older _than me." Alex said.

"Yeah, I get that a lot. Your mom's probably in her fifties right?" Carol asked with a wry grin.

"Yep." Alex popped the 'p'.

"Damn I'm old," Carol decried with an exaggerated sigh. And just like that, the tension was mostly gone. "So. I guess I should tell you about my family and see if anything sounds familiar huh?" Carol said as she took another drink from the mocktail. "Well as you can probably guess by choice of drink here," she tapped the vaguely orange drink with a mint leaf on the top, "I'm an alcoholic. And I guess that's also the first thing you should know about my father."

Alex internally winced. The tension was definitely back.


	7. Story Time

CHAPTER 7: Story Time

_"__Damn I'm old," Carol decried with an exaggerated sigh. And just like that, the tension was mostly gone. "So I guess I should tell you about my family and see if anything sounds familiar huh?" Carol said as she took another drink from the mocktail. "Well as you can probably guess by choice of drink here," she tapped the vaguely orange drink with a mint leaf on the top, "I'm an alcoholic. And I guess that's also the first thing you should know about my father." _

_Alex internally winced. The tension was definitely back. _

"I, we didn't have to come to a bar," Alex blurted out before Carol could continue.

Carol looked at Alex with a bemuse expression and shook her head lightly. "I'm able to go to bars, I just need to watch my temptations is all. Besides," Carol tapped her drink, "In terms of taste, this is fine."

"Alcoholism isn't about _taste_," Alex said.

"I know, but it's something I've been dealing with since I was a teenager. Besides, the quality of alcohol required to actually affect me to momentarily satiate my addiction cannot be found on this planet," Carol shrugged. "At least _my _Earth. And even in the bigger badder cosmos, there are still precious few drinks to find that even get me tipsy."

"You know because you tracked them down huh?" Alex concluded with a sad expression.

"I was separated from my daughter and her other mother, my ex-girlfriend/current best friend for over a decade because I had to atone for war crimes I committed while my _humanity_ was suppressed. I saw them periodically after that, but I had an _obligation._ And I put that over my family. So yeah, I was definitely a dangerous and raging alcoholic after the first few months of exploring, when there was no light at the end of the tunnel. It took some years, and some relapses…" Carol shivered at the thought of when she found Maria's ashes in her bed. She tracked down Monica's last known location and found her dead too.

"Carol? Are you alright?" Alex asked. The blonde in front of her was wearing the exact same expression Kara had in the early years of her life in Midvale: the horror of incalculable loss.

"Something horrible happened a little while back in my universe and half of all life in the universe turned to ash. My family and few friends were among them. We fixed it, eventually. Brought most of the people back. But the trauma will live for as long as we will."

"I…I don't know what to say?" Alex said softly. She was trying to wrap her mind around such a level of destruction

"Wow, I sort of went on a dark tangent there. The _point,_ is that I spent most of those five years as drunk as I could possibly be to keep myself numb. I fled Earth, told them I was needed elsewhere. And I was, sort of; but I think I left mostly out of shame. The way that they'd have looked at me if they knew the truth about me? Nope, did _not _want to deal with Natasha's puppy eyes." That thought brought Carol up short, and Alex could see some of the light leave the blonde's eyes. "She's dead too. Her team didn't even give enough of a fuck about her to have a memorial. Natasha Romanov was their fucking leader during the _worst _years of any of our lives, and they just _couldn't be bothered_. Not even her serial killer best friend." Carol growled.

_Oh_. Alex remembered what Carol had said a couple minutes ago, '_Brought _most _of the people back.' _"Was she more than a friend?" Alex asked quietly. Carol flinched and let out a dark chuckle.

"Yes. And when she needed me, I wasn't there," Carol said softly. "I had to leave Earth after that. My daughter and her other mother were alive again, even if we were estranged before their deaths, it meant the world to me that they were back; even if they both wanted nothing to do with me…I can't blame them for that. I abandoned them when they needed me."

Carol took a moment to survey the other bar patrons while Alex tried to digest the wealth of information Carol was spouting. "If I stayed planet side I would've killed Natasha's best friend who had the audacity to return without her. He didn't even recover her body. And then I probably would've come down like an avalanche on the others who disposed of the Infinity Stones, the means with which Natasha could've been brought back. I'm not exactly a team player, if you've not noticed." Carol sighed as she finished her mocktail.

"I'm so sorry," Alex said in a voice that was much smaller than she was expecting. Carol looked at her and shook her head.

"_I'm_ sorry I took a shit all over this bonding experience by going on about my demons. So you run an Alien Gestapo outfit? What's that like?" Carol said as she gestured to M'gann that she wanted a refill. Before Alex could respond, Carol hiccupped and put up a finger, "You know what, we can save that heavy shit for later...haha. I'm gonna go take a piss, I'll be right back."

"You want me to go with you?" Alex asked.

Carol smiled at her before her eyes lit up with a casual display of cosmic power, "Nah, I'll be alright red."

Carol made here way confidently across the establishment, weaving between the drunken impromptu dance competition and pool players alike before disappearing around the corner where Alex knew the restroom to be.

"She's an odd one." M'gann stated as she walked over to put down Carol's refill.

Alex looked up at M'gann's familiar face and smiled. "Odd?"

"I can't get into her head. It's like…it's not like Kryptonian minds. Kryptonians feel like there's an absence that should be there; doubtlessly centuries of carefully wiring their brains in such a way as to be able to sneak past us during wartimes. But _that _girl? She's something else." M'gann said with an air of awe.

"You seem impressed? Is it something I should be concerned about?" Alex asked lightly.

"I don't know. She's not an absence. Trying to look into her head is…blinding. It's like looking into the sun," M'gann continued with a soft smile.

"You got a crush on her?" Alex teased after a small gulp of whisky.

"You don't?" M'gann shot back with a very slight dusting of red across her brown cheeks. Alex noticed M'gann's failed redirection and her blush and laughed.

"I need to know some more things about her before I answer that," Alex said almost grudgingly.

"Like what?"

"Like if we're related," Alex groaned.

"Wait, what?" M'gann asked with a startled laugh. "What's going on?"

Alex shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose in consternation. "What isn't going on?" she muttered mostly to herself. To M'gann she replied, "She's a Danvers from another reality. So I don't know if she's somebody on _my _family tree I've never met."

"There's nothing wrong with kissing cousins, Alex," M'gann shrugged as she poured Alex a couple fingers more whiskey.

"What the fuck?"

"Like, as long as everyone involved is a consenting adult, what's the problem?" M'gann shrugged again. Alex just looked at her with a baffled expression. _What isn't the problem?_Alex practically screamed in her head. "Like, take you and your adorkabley sexy sister for example, she's not even from Earth, so how would that be incest?"

Alex was tomato red and said, "I'm gonna cut you off right there."

M'gann let out a laugh as she teased Alex. "I'm just playing with you. Though I wasn't joking about the consenting adults thing, it isn't our business to monitor their bedroom activities if it's all in–"

"The family?" Alex groaned.

"Good faith," M'gann finished with a cheeky grin.

"You little–"

"Sorry Alex, I have other customers," M'gann said as she danced away from the slightly enraged red head, having totally won that conversation.

"Did I miss much?" Carol asked as she sauntered up to the bar in a way that made Alex sure she had at least caught the tail end of that conversation.

"You fucker." Alex greeted the blonde, who burst out laughing.

"It's been a long while since anybody felt confident enough to give me lip. Don't ever stop with that." Carol sat back down and pulled out her L-Corp issued phone (given to her by the one and only Jessica Huang) and opened it to find a text from Lena.

**"****You're still my bodyguard?" **

Carol raised her eyebrow, forgetting that deal she made with Lena for a moment. She texted back, **"Yeah. Let me know where to meet you in the morning?" **Carol thought for a moment, blowing out a sigh before typing, **"I am sorry about how I arranged that ****_thing _****earlier. How goes it?"**

**"****You'll meet me at Kara's apartment tomorrow at 8:00 sharp. Don't be late."**

Carol fist-pumped the air in victory. "Get it!"

Alex looked weary as she asked, "Do I even want to know?"

"Your sister might be walking a little funny tomorrow is all," Carol responded immediately.

Alex blushed red as a tomato and Carol clinked her glass with Alex's stationary one on the bar and cried out "Mozel Tov!"


End file.
